Merc Mania

Well, with some trepidation, I can now truthfully lay claim to membership in the Royal League of C209 Brethren, assuming of course that owners of non-running examples of this fine steed qualify for induction, at least on a probationary basis.

After scouring online auction houses for a 2009 CLK550 that would be affordable to a die-hard cheapskate like me, I stumbled on a non-running car classified as "water damaged", going under the hammer in Texas, and was able to snag it with my miserly bid of 2 grand even.

I won't set eyes on this acquisition for a few more weeks yet, since it is in the process of being shipped from Houston Texas, to my lair, deep in the uncharted African wilderness, but, I still decided there would be no harm in sharing my junkyard find with fellow aficionados, many of whom will no doubt scoff at my rash and impulsive purchase.

When the car arrives, my plan is to start by draining and refilling all the fluids in the engine, tranny and diffs, before removing the spark plugs for that nail-biting turn-over test, to see how many gallons of water, minnows and jumbo shrimp erupt from the cylinders.

If it fires up after that initial effort, I will consider myself one of the luckiest punters alive, and will then embark on a comprehensive testing regime to see if the electronics and computer modules survived submersion in that Texas flood, with due apologies to Stevie Ray Vaughn's estate, for my use of his song title.

Anyway, let us cut to the chase without further ado, and break out the pictures, which show a clean, straight body and interior, marred only by an engine compartment that appears to have been ravaged by a demented mongoose, and which I hope is not too far gone for it to be revived by the shade-tree mechanics I will engage for the mad experiment.

In the coming weeks, not long after that schooner finally drops anchor in African waters, I will either have a triumphant report about the beast roaring to life, or, this topic will mysteriously sink beneath the swirling sands of time, never to be revived, so as not to attract the ridicule I would richly deserve if my new CLK winds up as a costly garden ornament.

Any pointers than can be offered regarding precautions and fixes, specific to water-damaged cars, that will increase the odds of my succeeding in this mission impossible venture that I have assigned myself, will be enormously appreciated.

Fatz

Now, that is an interesting, and undoubtedly challenging, undertaking. I will be looking forward to your updates.

I couldn't really tell if the pic of the engine compartment showed that it had been water logged..... Good luck...

Yidney

I have to ask the obvious question - what does it cost to ship a car from Texas to Africa?

As for your plan, I think I'd pull the plugs and figure out if it at least turns freely before changing fluids.

I'd be a bit concerned about the missing air box only because you don't know how long it's been that way or under what conditions, but I suppose in the grand scheme of things a little grit down the MAF hole is not the biggest issue.

Sounds like and interesting gamble.

Yidney

I don't think your engine bay looks like a mongoose was in there, even for a one night stand. It mostly looks pretty normal for that engine, sans air box. Also missing is the rubber hose from your SAI pump that connects to the air box. Other than that, something is missing from the underside of your radiator support. See that one long hose on the left that looks like it's been pulled back and laid on top of the engine? That is supposed to be hooked into the back side of the radiator support, but there is no hook. Some other bits are missing there as well, but I cannot tell all what exactly. Hopefully not the entire fan and fan shroud.

As for wet electronics, I think you just need to see what works and what doesn't and post back. I assume you have no details on what the water damage consists of? If not, it may have been flooded, or the car itself is ok except somebody drove it through high water and hydro locked the engine. Or you may have perfect engine but soaked carpet.

As for your thread disappearing, now that you have started it I think you at least owe us the outcome, even if it is just an expensive shrimp dinner.

Rudeney

I think you will have a lot of work ahead. Most of these auctions have fairly savvy buyers, and I am guessing that $2K is will be a fair price after you sort out all the problems. I suspect the engine locked and that various electronics in the car are waterlogged. It's definitely not beyond resurrection, but I'm not sure I'd touch it.

C280 Sport

Very cool! Good luck with the build. How much to ship to Africa? Are you really in the deep forrest or what? Are parts hard to find in your country? Interior combo looks great.

Merc Mania

Hello Yidney, the car will run me a grand to ship to Africa, meaning I will have spent $3K before I even get to set eyes on the vehicle, so this is a gamble that I may yet lose, but, this is a car that has been on my wish list ever since Rudeney singled out year 2009 as the very best for a CLK, and once I set eyes on it at the auction website, I was pretty much doomed to roll the dice and make the buy.

I am encouraged to hear that to your trained eye, the engine bay does not show evidence of major parts having been removed, and for all I know the missing engine cover may be sitting in the trunk where it could have been tossed after preliminary first-aid efforts failed to get the motor started back up. I can only hope that the previous owner's mechanics had the presence of mind not to attempt an engine start without first removing the spark plugs, because I understand that would instantly total the motor, should there be water sitting in any of the cylinders.

Perhaps my willingness to buy this car sight unseen is due to the success my mechanics here have had so far, fixing up older Mercs V8 cars that I purchased either inoperable or on their last legs, however, as Rodney mentions here, there is far more potential for electrical damage to have occurred in newer cars, than in my 1980s and 90's vintage Mercs.

Much thanks for stopping by to offer insights about this vehicle, because next to no information is typically published by the auction house regarding the specific nature of damage that buyers can expect to encounter after delivery.

@Rodney your thoughts are always appreciated when it comes to these CLKs, and I will no doubt be back here seeking pointers from yourself and other seasoned experts, when the actual work of analyzing the car's faults commences in earnest.

Much thanks for the input, fellas. This website hes been a rich source of insider knowledge for me regarding the CLK family, and I am humbled by the level of expertise to be found here.

@C280 I generally order my parts online from Pelican Parts, because genuine Merc parts are scarce here, and would cost way more than they should, with no guarantees that one is not picking up sub-standard Chinese knock-offs. Pelican parts has been my one-stop shopping venue for Merc parts over the past few years, and I typically wait a month for delivery this far off the beaten track, which isn't too bad.

Yidney

Sorta funny that it only costs a couple hundred more to ship from Texas to Africa than it would from Texas to New York.

I think that your thoughts about water in the engine may be a little off. If the car was just sitting stationary parked somewhere when a flood came, that would have to be some seriously deep water to fill the engine cylinders. If that happened, I think the interior would be far worse looking than it is. For example, it would have to have been deeper than where the owners manual is in that side pocket. It takes bit for water to get inside the car, but if it is just sitting in flood waters that deep it will happen. Also, if water has been sitting in there since whenever this flood was, it won't matter too much if somebody tried to start it because you will need to tear it all apart anyway. If the engine is toast, it is more likely because it was hydro locked. That means it was running, and somebody drove it through high water. The water does not even need to be that deep. The car creates a wave and pushes the water high enough to get in the air intakes. Suddenly a running engine sucks in water instead of air. Water cannot really be compressed, so inside an engine cylinder it might as well be solid concrete. So pistons already travelling at high speed suddenly slam into a concrete wall. Something will bend or break. It does not need to be a lot of water. It just needs to suck in more than the space that is left when the piston is at the top of its travel.

Merc Mania

Yidney these insights you have provided are both reassuring and unnerving at the same time. Reassuring because if the vehicle was stationary and with the engine off when the flood waters rose, I might get away with relatively minor reanimation costs, but unnerving when I consider the possibility that some off-road enthusiast may have indeed attempted to explore the deep-water wading capabilities of the car, and written off the entire motor in the process.

I will share the final diagnosis in this forum, when the car is examined on arrival, regardless of whether the findings call for jubilation, or for wailing and gnashing of teeth, on my part.

The learned opinions shared in this forum are treasured for their money saving value, and until my new acquisition makes an appearance I will continue to lurk and learn here, thankful that I don't get billed for knowledge so generously imparted by the Oracles of MBWorld.

Much obliged sir.

Nero Tenebre

I thought the first post was an extraordinarily fantastic tale (fiction) but now I'm interested to see what happens! This one's a hometown CLK for me, hopefully to be resurrected and live out it's days across an ocean!

Merc Mania

https://www.copart.com/lot/27937847/...sWon%2F&flag=1

Nero I cannot think of a reason why anyone would cook up a tall tale about purchasing a car, if in fact they had not done so. To seek technical assistance in a forum such as this one, I need to stay in the good books of all the regulars, and avoid posting anything that could be deemed a time waster.
.

Yidney

Interesting that the link has a different engine picture than the one you posted above. Somebody definitely has been messing around with the front end. That stuff hanging down in the engine pic in that link is your horn, plus some bracing that is in the space behind the grill. How it got up there, and hanging upside down, I do not know.

Merc Mania

I noticed that as well. The pictures I posted in this forum were saved a few weeks before I made the purchase, and when next I checked, it was clear that someone was in there taking stuff off the car, inside the auction yard. I'm not even sure if the hood will close properly, by the looks of these more recent pictures, but my enthusiasm is not dampened just yet, about the prognosis for a full recovery to working order, for this car.

Yidney

Plus, that picture shows a disconnected oil or tranny coolant line right below the hanging stuff.

Merc Mania

Pilfering is rampant at the wharf here in Africa, but I didn't think that such petty theft would be a concern in auction yards stateside. I know for sure some items have taken wing out of that engine compartment, but how much that theft will cost me will remain a mystery until I set eyes on what is left of that car.

All the same, having sourced all my other Mercs from scrap yards and back yards in whatever condition I could get them, this sort of thing is cause for concern, but not for despair, just yet.

91ser

Personally, Id say the interior ALONE is worth the 2k you paid!!! IMHO, that is one of the best interior packages you could get with the 550. I love black interior, but I always hated the burn you got from the black seats after a few minutes in the sun. I think the combination of the black/tan interior is not only extremely classy looking, but very functional as well.

Even with the black interior of my '03 500, it had the charcoal headliner. With the package you have, its the true black. Also a much better option I think. If nothing else (worst case), part it out and I'm sure you can recover your 2k.

Merc Mania

I really like that interior a lot, 91ser, and even in the worst case scenario in which the engine proves beyond repair, I should be able to snag a 5.5 liter V8 engine of comparable vintage, perhaps out of a junkyard S Class Merc. Used European car parts from junkyards are a tad cheaper here in Africa than in the US, so I still hold out hope that I will be able to restore this car to full working order by doing the usual junkyard rounds.

The sleek, understated aerodynamic form of the CLK has really grown on me since I first became aware that it is one of the very few modern Mercedes automotive designs that is built around a standard, time-tested spring and shocks suspension entailing NO costly and failure prone hydraulics, so, the delivery of this vehicle to my home, even in its current cannibalized form, will be a dream come true, regardless of how close to the poor-house its cost of restoration edges me.

I've got the CLK bug, and if all goes well, I will get to chronicle the progress, or lack thereof, along the road to completing this upcoming project, once this car gets here.

I tend to ramble a bit, so I'll stop for now ha ha.

Rudeney

I assume you have SDS? If not, you better get a setup.

Merc Mania

When Rodney speaks, wise Merc owners sit up and take notes. After a mad scramble to learn more about the term SDS, I stumbled on this $160 unit on sale at Amazon.


Horrified at the $2K price tag of a Mercedes code diagnostic tool, which also requires a hefty annual subscription fee, I decided to run this $160 product by you in the hopes it will suffice for use when my CLK550 undergoes surgery.

Do you think this device will handle all scans relevant to an engine swap, if one becomes necessary with this car ? I am extremely grateful for the cautionary mention of this essential device, which users agree will pay for itself in short order.

BenzAMG99

Hey man, go to aliexpress.com and and get a star diagnostic c4 off there. That's what I did and it was the best investment I've done. Could literally do anything you wish to the car. I paid $1.2k but here's one for $850 https://m.aliexpress.com/s/item/3272...che.0.0.Y28H0P

Merc Mania

AMG99 I would need to sell one of my kidneys to raise enough money for the unit you have described here, yet, if it turns out that the $160 device I found does not suffice for the job, I could indeed find myself reaching for the old scalpel to access my emergency savings account.

Jokes aside, I would ideally prefer to scrimp on the purchase of a scanner, since it will likely see very little use, besides the resolution of any error codes that emerge during the repair of this 2009 CLK550. All my other Mercs are relics of the 1980's and '90s, when complex computer modules were still a glimmer in the eye of their sadistic inventors.

I have bookmarked the product you kindly referenced here, for consideration only if my penny-pinching $160 scanner idea is shot down by the powers that be. Standing by for some reassuring news, because I could use it right about now.

BenzAMG99

Youve got a sense of humor ��, no problem buddy, good luck on the build. The 550 is a power machine

Merc Mania

I need to get into the habit searching old threads before asking questions that may have been addressed in the past. Form this link I can see I was on the right track in setting my sights on the Icarsoft MBII scanner as being suitable for the CLK, so I'll go ahead and get one of these for sure .

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...umstances.html

Now I can sit back and wait for the slow boat to arrive, before returning to seek more advice from the pros here.

JimVonBaden

I use this one, it is good. $120

Rudeney

The problem you may have is that if you need any coding, iCarsfot won't do that - you need SDS. You can get Chinese clones for $250-$600 depending on if you already have a laptop or not and how much work you want to do to install it yourself, or go plug-and-play.